When Knights Are Dead
by zerojuju
Summary: The year is 2023. The American Empire, now spanning across the entirety of North America, threatens war on Europe and potentially the rest of the world under the Imperator. The Empire's rapid expansion draws Merlin out of hiding as he finds himself unable to stand by as the threat on Britain becomes imminent. Will the Once and Future King finally reemerge in Albion's time of need?
1. Prologue

Prologue

1600 years ago

The castle seemed to hold its breath in silence as he walked the corridors alone. It was strange to see him without the other at his side, the two nearly inseparable for years. The king and his most trusted servant who was more a friend than one who merely tended to his duties as the king's manservant. Everyone knew why he was alone, but seeing it with their own eyes was the final blow to make the shocked whispers a cold reality.

Worn leather boots padded across the polished stone of the Great Hall, hardly making a sound as they approached the throne at the end of the otherwise empty space. The queen sat in the throne, her back straight and her chin strong under the new weight of the crown that rested upon her head, her usually warm brown eyes fixed with grief on the simply-dressed young man who now stopped before her on bent knee. His raven black hair fell forward as he bowed low.

"Merlin, you needn't bow before me. Gaius told me who and what you are."

Merlin hesitated a beat before raising his head and stood to meet her eyes. "You are still my Queen, so I should still pay you the respect which is due."

Guinevere sighed lightly before standing and walking down the five steps which elevated the throne above her friend of many years. She approached him and embraced him, not having to wait long before he returned it.

"Gwen...I am so -"

"I do not blame you for Arthur's death, Merlin. I trust you did all you were capable of to save him, as you no doubt have been since we met all those years ago." Gwen released him and looked into his pale blue eyes which were hollow with loss.

"Come," she said as she turned and left the Hall. The hem of her long black gown glided across the floor, her long black hair draped elegantly down her back moved gently back and forth at her waist with her steps. Merlin followed her to one of the meeting chambers where they would not be overheard.

He closed the door behind them and the queen sat at the head of the table, leaning back in her chair and placing her elbows on the armrests, her fingers touching. "Percival returned a day before you from an ill-planned mission he and Gawain had conceived to trap Morgana. I had previously sent her on a goose chase in the opposite direction of you and Arthur with the information you gave Gaius about the spy in Camelot. It seems that Gawain and Percival thought that they might take matters into their own hands for revenge, so they pursued her.

"It was there where _she_ captured _them_ and interrogated Gawain for the king's true location. Gawain did not survive the encounter, I am sorry to say, and I am sure that it was through this that Morgana was able to find you. I'm not wrong in assuming that she interfered in your journey to the Lake of Avalon?"

Merlin gestured at the chair next to her, and she bade that he sit. "She did find us. She chased off our horses and wasted the precious few moments which might have meant life for the king if our path had otherwise been without obstruction. There is a silver lining to this though: we do not need to fear her anymore. The witch is dead."

Gwen's brow furrowed slightly. "I would have thought that, as a High Priestess, she would have been difficult - if not impossible to kill - without prior preparation?"

Merlin smiled slightly as he looked at the dust illuminated by the light of the sunset shining through the window, "That's why I gave Arthur the sword that I drove into the stone. It was forged in the Great Dragon's breath, making it a weapon capable of killing any and everything in its path. A similar blade was forged to slay the king, the dragon' s magic being impervious to my own so I would not so easily be able to heal him."

"I see," said Guinevere. They sat in silence before Merlin realized that he sensed another smaller presence in the room. Sitting up straighter, he focused his magic to locate the source of the…

" _Intruder?"_ he wondered as he found his focus directed to the queen. More specifically, to the child who she herself might not yet have been aware that she bore.

Arthur's child. There was a hint of the magic of which the king himself was born residing in the unborn child that spoke to Merlin's own magic.

Merlin stood abruptly, aware now of what he must do until the fated return of the Once and Future King. Guinevere stared at him as he pushed a hand through his hair before cupping his hands together and mumbling indecipherable words into them. When he opened his hands he held a thick silver ring: it was made of multiple thin silver vines curled and knotted around each other to come together in the center where a deep blue - almost black - stone lay, the crest of Pendragon carved into its surface.

He took one of Gwen's hands and placed the ring in her palm, curling her fingers round it to grip it tightly. "On this ring, I swear to protect Arthur's line. Pass it down to your child," he glanced at her stomach, "and tell them to give it to their heir, and they to theirs. In this ring is magic which will allow me to watch over them without being directly with them."

The queen looked entirely confused. "Merlin, the Pendragon line is already lost with the deaths of Arthur and Morgana."

Merlin smiled now. "Not quite yet, my lady. You are with child."

"What?" she said, placing a hand to her abdomen in shock. "If that is true, then why this precaution? You will be staying in Camelot still I presume?"

"No," he said firmly, "my place is no longer in Camelot. I must leave to hone my magic; I cannot do so here since it is still prohibited and I do not wish to add another shock onto this place so soon after Arthur's death and your ascension to the throne."

Gwen nodded slowly. "I understand. I do not like it, but I understand. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything, my lady."

She smiled as she stood up to stand before him. "Please remember your friends here. I will miss you dearly, my friend."

Merlin nodded, a sad smile on his face. With this, he took her outstretched hand, kissed her knuckle, and departed far from the kingdom.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

2023

" _Government officials are saying that the threat of the American Empire is almost inevitably going to extend to the remainder of South America as the majority of Brazil and almost all of Bolivia have been invaded by American forces. Bombings have left many major cities mere piles of rubble, and hundreds of thousands of people have had to flee their homelands. The death toll rises by the thousands daily, and the number of missing and injured indicate what could be weeks yet of work for Emergency Teams._

" _The Imperator continues his seemingly endless mission to "Make America born again" as American citizenship is denied to nearly every person of color and all who were not born in the Empire. Of those who were born there, many are being stripped of what should be their birthright merely because of the color of their skin despite having been born in America. Countries all over the world are accepting refugees who've managed to escape the violent persecution of the raging Empire._

" _King Charles and the British Parliament still stand in opposition to the Imperator, sending troops and supplies to those at the front lines of defense in what remains of Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil despite the recent losses of Colombia and Venezuela. As always, donations of any and every kind are gratefully accepted and encouraged in these dark times-"_

Merlin turned off the glass wall with a flick of his wrist and leaned forward heavily, his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands.

"Why...why is this happening again?" he asked out loud in the living room.

 _Merlin?_ A voice asked quietly in his mind as a white-haired young woman approached him.

He sighed and leaned back into the black leather of the couch. "What is it, Aithusa?"

She sat beside him and tucked her feet under her. Her elegant face contorted with concern for the warlock, her yellow eyes rimmed with blue studied his tense posture. _Is there nothing more that we can do right now?_

"If I were to do anything more, I might as well just be fighting the Imperator on my own. I cannot fix everyone's problems for them, especially when I don't want people to realize that magic is a viable card to play. Not to mention the fact that your true form is rather conspicuous," he sadly laughed.

 _Perhaps we should just go into hiding for another hundred years or so? Despite all that's happened, it seems that once again we will be disappointed. After all, we had thought that the Black Plague's threat on Europe might have been the catalyst to bring the King back, especially having been a disease born of magic._ Aithusa stretched her arms above her in almost complete calm. Talking about a plague that had wiped out about half of Europe while Merlin had worked frantically for years to find a cure as if it had meant nothing.

It was moments like these that, across the centuries, reminded Merlin of Aithusa's true nature: a dragon of immense power. As a creature of old magic, it could be reasoned that her general lack of interest in humans was due to the fact that in her eyes they were insignificant in comparison to her. It made her seem heartless at times, and Merlin often had to remind himself that he needed to do what he could to encourage empathy within her despite her lack of enthusiasm.

He had asked Kilgharrah if all dragons were capable of taking human form, figuring that if they could it would have been easier to escape dragon hunters if they simply weren't dragons. The Great Dragon, with a tone of deep disgust, had said that yes, all dragons could take human form if they so wished to disgrace themselves. He recalled the chains that had shackled him beneath Camelot had been fortified with a magic to prevent him from being able to shrink into a human and simply walk out of his prison. This capability was one of the deepest secrets of the dragons, so Kilgharrah guessed that the information was tortured (or maybe even bribed) out of a Dragonlord. Aithusa herself had little qualms about taking human form which only made Kilgharrah disapprove of her more

Her attitude was also likely a byproduct of her time spent in torture at the hands of cruel men when she was young; the torture that resulted in her deformation and mute tongue. While Merlin, with guidance and extra power bestowed on him by Kilgharrah, had been able to heal her ruined wings and misshapen body, he was unable to restore her speech. As a Dragonlord he could still communicate with her, but telepathically in a way that nearly no one else could.

He was probably the only creature, besides herself, who Aithusa truly cherished.

"Perhaps you're right. Then again, maybe the prophecy was meant to be more of a spiritual thing where Arthur would return in the hearts of men to give them courage in their time of greatest need."

 _If that were the case you would have come to and stuck with that conclusion a millennium ago. If Kilgharrah said he would return, he will return. Besides, it's not up to you to decide when these things happen, so don't be surprised that this is out of your control, especially after all this time. Now, are we staying or are we going to let things run their course now that you've already dipped your fingers in to assist the resistance against the Empire?_

"In moments like these I wonder if it would just be best to let human nature take its course however it may be. If I didn't have you around through the centuries I might have just taken Arthur's heir and dropped them in a small colony in the middle of nowhere to be safe while I hibernated or something."

 _And let yourself turn into a bitter, crotchety old man. Oh, wait -_

"Shut up, smart ass." Aithusa laughed as he shoved her shoulder with his own, her foot flying up to push the center of his chest and force him back to his own side of the couch.

 _It's going to be okay, Merlin. Humans have managed to survive up to this point without you pulling all of the strings, not to mention everything that happened long before you were even born. Whatever you end up doing, do it wholeheartedly or don't do it at all._

He sighed and rubbed his eyes once more. "You're right. Again."

Merlin stood and went to the dining room where his coat was slung over the back of a chair. "For now," he said as he slipped on his shoes, "we're going to get some fresh air and see if there's another perspective to be had before making a solid decision."

 _Alright,_ she said as she joined him in getting ready. She slipped the plastic and metal contraption around her neck which would allow her to make conversation with people other than Merlin as it vocalized what her mouth could not say by reading the movement in every muscle of her neck and throat and translating them into words. Aithusa hated the contraption, but it made them less conspicuous when she and Merlin were in public when it looked like he was having a one-sided conversation with himself with her as the audience; and in the case where she might want to speak to a person she would be able to do so.

The technology was starting to get somewhat old in this Talker, Merlin noted and guessed he would need to buy a newer edition soon. The Talker, while not always 100% accurate, allowed the mute to communicate without those who didn't know sign language as it provided her a synthetic voice.

 _By the way, we're out of meat and basically everything else, so we'll need to go to the supermarket to get more food while we're out._ Despite her human form, Aithusa still had the metabolism of a dragon which required weekly - if not more regular - trips for groceries. At least one upside came from this though: because of her appetite, both of them had become masters of bargain shopping.

In their small living space of two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a small kitchen, much of the area was packed with food for Aithusa (with a much smaller ration reserved for Merlin) and the objects of magic which Merlin had been collecting over the centuries. They owned spaces outside of the small flat, but those were reserved almost exclusively as greenhouses for extremely rare herbs and a massive underground cavern for Aithusa to occasionally revert to her true form and stretch her wings.

Merlin like the setup well enough as it provided enough comfort for the two ancient beings to live a secluded but cozy life.

He often wondered lately if they would have to go into hiding for the sole reason that the amount of food needed for Aithusa might no longer be accessible with the war in the West needing increasing shipments of supplies. They had to take similar action during World War II, living in uninhabited wilderness in caves and making the most of what was around them with their magic. Luckily, during the Wars the Pendragon heir was a woman and therefore was not drafted to face death in combat.

"All right, all right. Just make sure to leave some for me sometime, will you? Last time you ate all the crisps before I could even smell them" Aithusa laughed evilly as Merlin reached for the key chain that hung from the hook on the wall and they flew into his outstretched hand with a golden flash of his blue eyes. "Here we go then."

 _Off on another adventure!_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _It still boggles me that a country that made so many great things would be doing this. I mean, as a whole America was loopy but at least they helped a lot of countries before deciding that everybody should just_ become _them._ Aithusa said as she tied up her white hair in a ponytail and grabbed Merlin's arm as they walked down the sidewalk.

Embedded in the slightly rough black material of the sidewalk was micro technology to absorb and use the sun's energy to power the flashing lights of advertisements all around them and to direct the traffic of the nearly silent electric cars.

"Remember...oh when was it, a bit over a hundred years ago? Those things combated your snoring power," Merlin teased as a car rolled across their path into an underground lot, above which was a sign advertising free charging for the first hour of parking. Underneath every parking space was a wireless charging pad which would charge your car for you while you were away.

 **Ah yes, very clever. You're lucky I can't make you carry all the groceries home anymore.** Aithusa's artificial voice rattled out of the Talker as she swiped her hand in a downward motion in front of her, opening a screen which greeted her in fancy script "Hello, Abigail!"

 **And 'Hello' to you too, Siri. What are the sales like at the supermarkets today?** Aithusa asked the projected screen while they walked in the direction of the store with the most sales of the day.

Merlin's nose was pink from the cold even though it was early August, his eyes scanning the street for the both of them as Aithusa was already preoccupied with her Mobile. Just like everybody else around them it seemed.

Light radiated from everywhere now that wireless internet was accessible anywhere you went: people with their eyes focused on the large images before them leading them pace by pace, the fading glow your shoes left behind on the ground, the swirling colors on people's clothes.

"Goodbye, Abigail!" Siri chirped as Aithusa swiped her hand upwards to get rid of the screen. _How's the heir doing?_

Merlin reached through the connection he had with the ancient ring to sense that the heir seemed healthy and generally at peace. "She seems fine. How old is she now?"

 **About 26? 27? She's had a generally uneventful life it seems, so we might not even meet her again.** Aithusa said offhandedly as they entered the store.

"Thank God for that. We can only pull so many strings so many times before they realise something's going on." Merlin picked up an apple from the bin to his left and inspected it. Shrugging, he put his thumb to the lid of the tube to the right of the bin where it recognised him as "Christopher" and opened to take the apple which would later be delivered to their flat. His thumbprint also connected the machine to his bank account so an extra stop to a cashier wasn't necessary anymore.

"You know what? I think you might be right," he said after a while as he observed the somewhat glazed look in the eyes of those around them in the shop. People had become more and more lifeless as they zombified before the power of the rapidly increasing technology sucking them away from actually living.

 **About what? You've never considered getting a puppy before.**

"What?" Merlin turned around in confusion as he spotted Aithusa by the kennel where a few mixed breeds were looking at her with clear distress. They, along with most other animals, could sense the power of her true form as she looked at them with slight disinterest. No doubt she was only considering getting one out of boredom.

"No, I meant about leaving. I've wanted to visit the greenhouses for a while to spend more time developing remedies and clues about Arthur. It's not like we're really doing anything around here much anymore, is it?" By 'remedies,' Merlin mostly meant magical potions for purposes beyond mere healing. Of course, he couldn't just toss out the word 'potions' in public but who knows? People were shocked very little these days by anything which might otherwise be out of the ordinary.

Aithusa looked at him hopefully, the dogs taking the opportunity to scurry away from her to the opposite side of the kennel. _Would we be able to go to the cavern? I've been dying to stretch my wings for ages!_ **Do you really mean it?**

"I think so. How about it? One last trip to check up on Elena then we'll be on our way." Elena Garcia wouldn't see them when they checked up on her. Their only interaction with her would be making sure from a distance that she was healthy and financially stable enough to live and continue the Pendragon line even when the name itself was lost.

 **I can't wait to let loose.** Aithusa said with a smile as she dropped a few more items in tubes around the shop to be sent to their flat. **I am going to miss rockers, though.**

"I'm sorry? What was that?" Merlin grinned as Aithusa whipped her hand up to her Talker as it deceived her by mixing up her words.

 **Ugh, damn this stupid contraption!** Showers _. I'm going to miss showers_. She clarified, pulling at the Talker. _I'm not even remotely going to miss this. Maybe the next time we have to return they'll have made something more effective._

"Maybe. Are you ready to go?" Merlin swiped his hand before him to check the time. It was already 3:30 and they hadn't eaten for awhile that day. He'd probably have Aithusa do the cooking tonight while he figured out where exactly they would stay when they left London. Somewhere close but not too close to the greenhouses and -

Merlin's eyes shot wide open as his heart suddenly started pounding and his face drained of all color. What was happening?

 _Merlin?_ Aithusa asked as she noticed Merlin had fallen behind. _What are you - Merlin!_

She rushed to his side and brought her face level to his own as he had hunched over, just barely able to stand. He looked directly into her eyes, "It must be Elena. We need to go NOW."

Aithusa nodded seriously as she helped him straighten, pushing her own magic toward him to speed up his system's recovery from whatever shock was coming through his connection with the heir's ring. He latched mentally onto its location and they rushed down the street toward it, weaving through confused pedestrians and dodging across the street causing a few of the cars to beep at them.

As they approached the location of the ring, which was only about ten blocks away from the supermarket they were at, Merlin scanned the street for any sign of the heir, not seeing her even when he sensed they were very close to it. There wasn't any sign of her somewhat short frame or her long brown hair which should have been evident at this point considering they should basically be tripping over her now. A few minutes into their chase after the initial signal the ring sent out Merlin no longer felt the terror pulsing through the ring; fearing the worst but hoping he was wrong, Merlin's magic was directed to a young man walking toward them with a slightly confused look in his eyes.

"He has the ring. Get it and wipe his memory," Merlin instructed Aithusa, nodding to the stranger who for some reason had the ring.

 _Yes, my lord. I'll find you once I've finished._ She rushed to intercept the man, her actions fueled by Merlin's unconscious use of his bond as a Dragonlord to instruct the disguised dragon. He would have to apologise for that later, especially since it wasn't remotely necessary.

"How am I going to find her now…" he wondered aloud before realising he could follow the ring's path as it would eventually lead back to its true owner. His eyes flashed gold as a blue haze led from the stranger to what looked like an alley about a block away. If this person died now so would any chance of Arthur's return. Merlin didn't know how the king would be revived but he felt in his gut that it had something to do with Arthur's line which Merlin had kept alive all these years.

He followed the path into the alley and saw feet limply sticking out from between two garbage bins. Rushing over he saw a faintly familiar girl, her head severely gashed and bruises littering a good portion of her visible skin. Even though he hadn't seen her particularly recently he could still recognise that this woman was indeed Elena Garcia.

"Oh my God." He bent down and touched her neck, feeling her pulse still pumping albeit weaker than it should have been. Merlin looked to the sidewalk and street full of people just meters away from them and decided that it wasn't going to work to try to get her out of here by merely carrying her in his arms. He also couldn't trust her safety to a hospital when he didn't know why she was attacked in the first place or if she would be attacked again. Even if this was just a mugging gone wrong, he wasn't going to chance her recovery so he decided that he would bring her to their flat.

"Aithusa's going to rip me a new one for this," he mumbled as he gently put one arm behind her shoulders and the other under her knees, her head swaying to rest against his chest as he stood to hold her unconscious weight. He hoped she wouldn't wake before he could get back and scare the everliving daylights out of her as he might as well be a total stranger to her carrying her somewhere she didn't know. Maybe he would ask Aithusa do the bulk of nursing Elena back to health since he figured it would be less threatening to have a strange woman rather than a strange man take care of her. "Alright, let's go. You're going to be okay, Elena, just hang in there."

With that, Merlin's eyes swirled gold and the both of them popped out of sight away from the alley.

 _How could you bring her_ here _of all places?! Whatever happened to laying low and not making contact with the heir? Have you already forgotten what happened with Samuel? Margaret? Sophia? Wiping their bloody minds of every trace of you when they nearly got killed after discovering the truth! You helped develop hospitals for a reason, Merlin!_ Merlin hadn't seen Aithusa so enraged for a long time, but she was right to be. Just because magic was much more easily hidden in today's technology didn't mean he couldn't still be found out as a sorcerer.

"I'm sorry. I know you're right but I didn't have the time to figure out the extent of her wounds in the alley when people could easily think I was harming her or something. I had to be sure she would live, especially since there isn't another heir in the bloodline yet." Merlin took the ring Aithusa handed to him and placed it on the table under the television screen where Elena would see it but hopefully not suspect that they knew it was hers.

 _For some reason the man who had it wasn't exactly aware he held it in his hand for some reason. Did you put a defense spell on it after what happened with Jessica?_ Merlin nodded, remembering when the woman from...about three hundred?...years ago lost the ring to a thieving sorcerer who had recognised the magic it posessed and had stolen it. _Then I can assume that we'll be around for another few months at least, correct?_ Aithusa asked as she crossed her arms and cocked her hip.

"Yeah, probably. Do you have something she can change into when she comes to?" Merlin pulled a blanket over Elena as he avoided Aithusa's eye, embarrassed at his impulsiveness after all these years. He'd gotten himself into trouble countless times since his youth in Camelot and old age didn't provide a lot by way of remedying that unfortunately. It drove Kilgharrah mad possibly more than it did Aithusa because for whatever reason she didn't have the gift of prophecy to the extent that the Great Dragon did, so she didn't have the same level foresight for Merlin to ignore.

 _I'll patch her up while you go get old and creaky,_ Aithusa said behind him as she approached the couch with clean clothes, a bowl of warm water with towels, and different concoctions of medicinal herbs made with minimal amounts of magic. It would be a pretty big red flag if Elena's wounds healed noticeably faster than they normally would have without magical intervention.

Aithusa re-tied her hair and proceeded to clean Elena of the grime from the alley with a damp cloth, her hands gentle to keep from disturbing the unconscious woman. The few times the two of them came into contact with Arthur's heir over the centuries Merlin would typically revert to what his old age would more realistically look like while Aithusa would pretend to be his granddaughter and caretaker. The more bland they made their lives appear, the less interest people would have to stick around. Or so the two of them hoped since they were just playing by ear most of the time anyway.

"Right. Thank you, Aithusa." Before Merlin could shuffle off to his room for the ingredients to reverse his youth spell, Aithusa reached out to him through their bond.

 _I understand why you did it, Merlin. I just hope that this isn't an omen for worse to come._ Her back was still to Merlin as she strapped on her Talker in case she needed to speak to Elena, then continued with her work swiftly and methodically.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Elena drifted out of the haze of unconsciousness slowly, her vision somewhat blurry as she stretched her arms above her head then rubbed her face with her palms, her mind grasping at her quickly fading dream. She couldn't remember much about it besides broken pieces of images and a deep terror left in her like thick humidity clinging to her skin. As she gave up on trying to remember it she realized that the lighting in the room was strange and - more importantly - she wasn't on her own sofa.

"What the…?" Sitting up quickly she looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings: she was on a black sofa with a blanket on her lap in a beige-colored room with a large space on the wall across from her where the television would probably project if she swiped her hand downwards in its direction and a coffee table between them. The sparse room held little by way of giving her any indication of who lived there as it was clean to the point of being practically empty. Really, there wasn't anything personal or decorative in the place except a folded pile of clean clothes on the short table and- "Is that my ring?!"

Elena threw the blanket off her lap and got to her feet, regretting it immediately when she suddenly felt extremely lightheaded and had to brace herself on the arm of the couch. It was then that she noticed the homemade bandages on the exposed skin of her arms and legs which - with her short-sleeved shirt and shorts - was more than she wanted to think about some stranger touching her. She shivered mentally as she cautiously straightened, not wanting to relive nearly passing out, and crossed the room to scoop up the ring which had been placed on a table matching the coffee table at the base of the large wall.

Upon inspection of the ornate silver knotting and the dark blue stone with what her family had supposed was some sort of crest and taking into account that her finger lacked the exact same ring, Elena concluded that was either a very impressive fake or it had to be hers. Betting on the latter, she slipped it back onto the middle finger of her right hand where it had belonged for almost ten years now.

 **Oh good, you're awake.**

Elena, who hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings after she had picked up her ring, spun around to see a beautiful young woman standing behind her with a kit of strange medicinal supplies. Her white hair and unsettling yellow eyes were initially shocking, but Elena saw that they strangely seemed to suit the woman who could only be at most a couple of years older than her own 27 years. The only thing making the woman seem more human than angelic was the Talker wrapped around her pale neck indicating her muteness. That explained the mechanical voice which had greeted her moments before.

"Where am I? What happened to me?" Elena calmly asked, not sure how to approach this bizarre situation, but figuring that starting without hysterics would probably be prudent.

The woman cocked her head as she observed Elena almost as though she viewed her as some sort of specimen. **You don't remember? My granddad found you in the alley and had me bring you in here to patch you up since you were in pretty bad shape. Looks like you're feeling a bit better then? My name is Abigail, by the way. What's yours?** As she spoke, Abigail placed the kit on the table and moved to open the white curtains covering the window on the opposite side of the room, filling the space with natural light.

"My name's Elena. You said I was in an _alley_?" Elena sat back down on the couch as Abigail gestured toward her bandages, questioning silently if she could examine them. She nodded warily, figuring whatever damage could be done with what looked like homemade remedies had already been done considering she was already patched up. Abigail gently got to work unwrapping the cloths on Elena's head (which she hadn't noticed but explained why she felt lightheaded), pulling them away to reveal that they were slightly bloodstained.

 **This is to clean your wounds. It'll sting a bit but it's safe,** Abigail said as she pulled a vial of brownish liquid from the box, screwing off the top and pouring a small amount in her palm and rubbing into the back of her own hand until it absorbed into her skin. **See? Perfectly safe.**

"Alright," Elena said slowly, comforted at least that if this woman did turn out to be psycho that they would both be taken out by these 'remedies.' Elena braced for the sting as Abigail approached her skull with a cloth soaked with the disinfectant but what she felt was more of a prickle than a sting. Well, that was anticlimactic.

 **We didn't see what happened to you, so we'd hoped that you would remember something. Not just to find out what happened to you but also because that would at least mean that your brain probably didn't get damaged when you hit your head. What's the last thing you remember?** Abigail asked as she continued to examine how Elena's wounds were healing.

Elena thought about it for a moment, racking her brain before finally saying, "The last thing I can remember is walking home from work." Abigail nodded, pursing her lips in concentration before turning and grabbing another vial from the kit. Again, she demonstrated that it was harmless before spreading some of the thick greenish mush on Elena's left shoulder blade.

 **Well, the bright side is that it looks like you won't have any permanent damage from what I can see. Does your vision seem blurry or your thought process slow?** "No...I don't think there's anything noticeably different."

 **Kool-aid.** Abigail stopped her work and rolled her eyes, inhaling heavily through her nose in frustration. **I really hate this thing sometimes. That's good to hear though.**

 **It looks like some of these,** Abigail held up one of the cloths that had been used to cover a scrape on Elena's arm, **can be replaced by regular old bandages. That should make it a bit easier for you to move around at least.** With that, Abigail took out a box of them and used a few for her shoulder, elbows, and the side of her calf. Judging by the placement of the wounds, Elena guessed she must have fallen down - maybe even pushed - quite a few times.

As Elena continued to question her own sanity for allowing a woman she barely knew to tend to wounds she still couldn't remember getting, an old voice croaked from down the hall accompanied by slow thumping steps.

"Ugh, I hate being so old and creaky. Abigail, did you put the new tea away yet? Oh, she's awake. That's good." A surprisingly tall, thin old man shuffled into view, pausing for a moment to wave at the two of them before continuing on his slow journey to the kitchen. Elena wondered if the man and his granddaughter were purposely coordinating with their long white hair, the old man sporting a long white beard to match. Really, he looked like a less energetic, magicless Dumbledore without glasses. What really topped off his look was the fluffy red bathrobe and the slippers he wore, the lower half of his skinny calves and ankles visible beneath the hem.

 **And that would be my grandad.** The old man snorted lightly as he navigated his way around the kitchen, pulling mugs out of the cabinets at head level and placing a kettle of water on one of the glass counters where he brushed a knobbled finger across the surface to turn on a heating element beneath it. **Would you like some tea, Elena?** Abigail asked as she finished checking the rest of the bandages.

"Yes, please," Elena said as Abigail's grandfather continued to deftly grab a teapot and some snacks to put on a large wooden tray. Just as he finished putting the rest of the tray together the kettle on the counter began to whistle to the tune of 'The Entertainer,' signaling him to pick it up and pour the heated water into the pot with the tea leaves he'd just finished measuring. The heating element on the counter turned itself off as he picked up the tray, quite a feat for such an old guy considering how heavy it looked, and left the kitchen to go to the living room.

 **Let me get that,** Abigail said reaching for the tray as he was about to bend to put the tray on the table. He didn't answer for a few seconds before saying "Ah yes, I _am_ an old man so you should be sure to clean up once we're done, too. Thank you, sweetheart. You can call me Chris, by the way, Miss…?"

"Elena," she said, extending a hand to him. "Thank you for helping me, both of you." He grasped her hand with his own, shaking it firmly before settling on the opposite side of the couch.

"It was no trouble at all. Oh, was that yours? We found it - well, Abigail found it - around where you were," he said, nodding to the ring on her right hand. She moved her thumb along the side of it, nodding.

"It's been in my family for longer than anyone remembers. Thank you for finding it."

"Our pleasure. Please, have some tea or some...what are these?" Chris asked Abigail as he picked up a dark green disk with white speckles dotting it. He laughed under his breath right before Abigail said, **Didn't you read the box? It's a new thing from France I think.**

"Right, right, silly me. Anyway, is there anything you needed to get done today, Elena? If not, it'd probably be best for you to try to remember what happened to you in case you remember their face. Unless of course you don't want to. We have plenty of tea and time to get you healed up if you don't mind Abigail taking care of you," Chris said as he poured himself a cup and tried to take a sip without getting his whiskers in it.

Abigail raised her eyebrow at him, making him snort and almost spit out his tea from what was clearly an inside joke. Pouring a cup for Elena then for herself, Abigail sat on down on the couch between them.

"Thank you, but I don't really remember anything past walking home from work. Speaking of, where exactly am I?" Elena asked as she held her mug between her cold hands. After Abigail rattled off their address, Elena figured her own house was only about a kilometer and a half from here but not between her house and her job at the boutique store. Strange.

 **I'm sure that whatever you have at home for painkillers and whatnot should be fine. If you don't live with anybody I'd suggest that you stay here so someone can keep an eye on you, considering you've been out for about sixteen hours now.** "You didn't think to mention that earlier, Abigail?" Chris said slowly, raising both bushy white brows as he looked at Abigail over the rim of his mug.

"What?! It's already Friday?!" Elena gasped as she swiped her hand in front of her, accidentally using the television space instead of the normal half meter by two thirds meter projection, and saw that it was almost 8:00 am. That explained the fluffy red bathrobe and slippers, Elena guessed. She didn't notice the announcement on the corner of the screen that placed a speech to be made by the king at 5:00 pm that afternoon, or the seemingly endless advancement of the American Empire.

"I'm so sorry to leave all of a sudden, but I have to be at work in a couple of hours. What do you want me to give you for taking care of me?" Swiping upward to turn off the bigger screen and swiping downward purposely away from the large wall, Elena prepared to make a transaction with Abigail for the medication and overall generosity and hospitality.

 **Oh, no no no. Please don't give us any money. If anything, just check in with us that you're okay and maybe stop by again for a visit sometime,** Abigail smiled as she pulled open her own screen and sent Elena her contact information.

"Really, we just want to know that you'll be alright," Chris said as he stood with Abigail to send Elena off at the door.

"Um, alright. Thank you for helping me. I'll be sure to keep in touch!" With that, Elena sped out the door and followed her general knowledge of the area to get back home. If she hurried, she should have enough time to shower and apply some of her own bandages to her many mysterious wounds before her shift at work.

 _Well, that was fun,_ Aithusa said as she sat back down to finish her tea and more of the strange green things, stripping the Talker from her neck. _At least she should be basically presentable in a day or so. I guess it was lucky she herself never saw the extent of her injuries so I could heal the worst of them without her being any the wiser that she had a broken arm, a sprained ankle, and bleeding in her brain._

"That's true. What'd you get from what you found about the guy who had the ring?" Merlin asked as he made his way back to his room to grab the ingredients for his youth spell. His back was killing him and his voice sounded like he had tried to gargle rocks, not to mention the unbearable itchiness of his beard.

 _Not much. He was born here but spent some time in America when it was still the United States. I guess he abandoned ship when all hell started to break loose after the election in 2016, not surprisingly. Not married, not exactly well off. From what I can see, he's just a normal guy who saw value in an ornate ring and thought he could maybe get somewhere with Elena while he was at it._ As she spoke, Merlin put together the potion and downed it, feeling the effects immediately as his skin regained its health, his spine straightened and became stronger, and his hair returned to its normal black color and shortish length as his beard disappeared.

"I guess that's good to hear. If she doesn't get in touch with us soon, maybe we should take a stroll down the street where she works to check up on her there." Merlin changed into his black skinny jeans with the white stitching and a blue tee shirt. "Yay, I'm normal again!" he celebrated as he skipped out of his room and grabbed his mug to finish his tea on the sofa.

 _Yes, yes. Back to your fake normal self, you old geezer. You're lucky your magic can sustain that spell for such long periods of time or you'd just have to age like the rest of us,_ Aithusa grinned, turning her back to rest against the arm of the sofa and tossing her feet on his lap. "Agk, your feet are like ice!"

 _Muhahaha, my evil power will soon overcome you, puny warlock!_ she cackled in his mind as he put his feet up on the coffee table next to the tray and pulled the blanket off of the floor and over their laps with a golden glow of his eyes, making the end of Aithusa's side pull over her head. "Brat."

 _Turd muffin._ Fixing the blanket and her hair, Aithusa cuddled down with her nose over the rim of her mug.

"Seriously though, did you see that notice earlier? Bolivia's fallen already and it looks like only a matter of time before Brazil does too," Merlin said as he rested his arms on her shins, leaning his head back to stare at the plaster ceiling.

 _My guess is that if Brazil falls it will kick the rest of us into gear. The Imperator knows he can't so easily take on Britain and the rest of Europe, not when we have a lot of their own technology to confront him with. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to take a nap,_ Aithusa announced as she placed her unfinished mug on the coffee table and turned on her side to face the sofa's cushion, yanking the blanket up over her shoulder as she did so.

"It's eight in the morning."

 _It's the afternoon somewhere!_ she sang, closing her eyes. _I've been up late taking care of the girl so I'm just a smidgen exhausted. Let me know if anything interesting happens._

"Yeah, sure." Merlin sat there for a few minutes scrolling through the news before deciding he'd better do something productive besides molding his butt to the sofa, so he carefully lifted Aithusa's legs off of his lap and stood. Making sure she was covered with the blanket, he made his way to his room to replenish the medicinal mixtures Aithusa had used to heal Elena.

Just as he got everything prepared to make the inflammatory potion, Aithusa's voice rang in his head. _Merlin?_

"What is it?" Carefully measuring out the proper amount of dried _viola bicolor_ petals from their box, Merlin sprinkled them into the mortar and ground them into a fine dust.

 _Can you make me a sandwich?_ He snorted, brushing off some small bits that had gotten on his hands. He'd wondered how long Aithusa was going to pretend she wasn't starving when she was already desperate to get some sleep. "Of course."

 _And some of the soup from yesterday?_ Merlin walked to the kitchen and began to take everything out that could be put together into a meal quickly.

"Why don't we just have breakfast first and _then_ you can take a nap?"

Aithusa didn't respond for a second. _Okay, fine._


	5. Chapter 4

Finally my writer's block has lifted and I was able to finish this chapter! I wanted to give a shout out to people who have guessed the Imperator's identity to be a sort of future Donald Trump. Okay, it wasn't buried that subtly but it still rocks that you guys caught it. I hope you enjoy this week's chapter!

Chapter 4

 _Come on, come on, Merlin! King Charles is probably going to start his speech in just a few minutes._ Aithusa was still planted on the couch as she played a game on the television projection next to a live feed of the podium where the king would address the nation in honor of the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death.

"Just hold on for a second. I'm trying to find the…" Merlin peeked over the door of the refrigerator, the contents of which he was just sorting through. "Did you steal the last of my orange juice?"

Aithusa slowly turned her head to look at him, the straw in her mouth making a sucking noise signaling that her glass was empty. _No?_

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and her glass flew to his hand. Upon observation of the remnants at the bottom of the glass, the last drops of the orange juice they had just gotten not even five days ago, he rolled his eyes and placed it in the sink. "I hope your mouth still tastes like orange juice when you brush your teeth later."

 _That's a horrible curse, you monster. Feel my wrath!_ Aithusa was about to shoot popcorn as bullets from the bowl on her lap, her hand poised above the kernels in a battle stance, when she paused as a video call request from Elena Garcia appeared on the screen in front of her. _Crap. Go get out of range quick, Merlin._

"Huh? What is it?" he asked before entering the living room and seeing her screen. "Oh. Right. You have fun and let me know how she's doing. I'll just...make myself useful doing something out of sight I guess." With that, Merlin left the room and Aithusa answered the call.

"Hello, Abigail!" Elena said when her enlarged image appeared on the screen.

 _Hello - Oops_ , Aithusa thought as she reached for her neck which was bare of the Talker. _I guess I'm typing today._

Swiping her hand horizontally to the left, a keyboard appeared before Aithusa's fingers. "Hello, Elena. How are you doing?"

"I'm really well, thanks. I just got back from the doctor and it looks like everything's pretty much superficial and should heal up fine," Elena smiled as she responded verbally to Aithusa's typed message.

 _Looks like she's fine. Incredibly lucky she didn't have to heal the long way and is clueless that she should have something more serious going on since she was unconscious for a while,_ Aithusa told Merlin as she typed "That's good to hear!" to Elena.

A message appeared from Merlin beside Elena's face for Aithusa. "I'm glad you're happy that you were inconspicuous in nursing her back to health. Good job, Aithusa."

She smiled a little before Elena continued to speak. "I'd love to pop by at some point, but I work the next few days in a row."

"That's alright," Aithusa responded, her fingers flying across the keys of the glowing hologram. "Our schedule is open most of the time, so just keep us updated!"

"Sounds good," Elena smiled. "I have to go, but it was good talking to you, Abigail."

"And we're glad to hear that you're doing well. Take care of yourself, Elena." With that they ended their chat and Merlin entered the living room to take his place on the sofa next to Aithusa.

"Thanks for taking care of that," he said, placing his arm across the back of the sofa and crossing one leg over the other.

 _No problem. Oh, it's starting._ Both of them turned their attention to the ornate podium and the aging man approaching it. The stress of the last five years was evident in every new line on his face each time the media caught his image: his once grey hair now completely white and lightly thinning, his face gaunt. The only things unchanged about King Charles III's appearance were his clear, focused eyes and the strong way he carried himself despite all that weighed on him, the Prime Minister, and the Parliament when it came to the matters overseas.

He placed his hands on the podium, his eyes set beyond the camera for a moment. With a breath he turned his attention to the camera, making eye contact with those watching from their homes.

"Today we honor the life and the death of Her Majesty and her 69 years as our monarch. We are also here to remember that we must hold firm as a steady unit despite the advances of the American Empire: a nation once respected and responsible for many advances to our own society and to others' across the world now very real a threat to all that we have built and accomplished. The late Queen spoke to me of how we must always stand by our own beliefs and hold our ground for our people and for the peoples of every nation, especially as so many have lost - and are losing - their identities.

"Rumors have circulated about an alliance between the Empire and Russia, an alliance which would surely be detrimental to us all. We cannot yet confirm or deny this to be fact or fiction. We must prepare for worse to come in the near future, regardless of this potential alliance.

"However, people of the United Kingdom, -"

The king suddenly cut off, his eyes glazing slightly as he rocked on his feet.

"What...?" Merlin wondered aloud. "Oh my God!"

A rapidly growing stain of crimson spread over Charles' heart, visible only a moment before the king collapsed and the stage was rushed by multiple agents before the camera was cut off, leaving blank static in its wake.

 _What the... Was he seriously just -_ Aithusa was cut off by the sound of an enormous explosion, so large that it shook their flat for a few seconds. Both of them startled and looked toward their little window. Merlin sat up straight, his hands on the sofa on either side of him as he looked up at the cracks forming in the plaster of their ceiling. Quickly repairing the damage with his magic before either of them got hurt, he and Aithusa jumped to their feet.

"What's going on?!" In answer, the screen on the wall filled rapidly with emergency news with bold captions labeling pictures of two scenes:

 **King Assassinated During Nationwide Address**

 **Palace of Westminster Leveled By Explosion of Unknown Origin**

Merlin and Aithusa stood in shock for a moment as they read the updating news until Aithusa ran to the window to see with her own eyes the fires raging from the North where only a few kilometers away the Palace had stood only minutes ago, now completely engulfed in flames reaching high into the sky. Looking down to the street she could also see people standing in shock as they watched the fires burn and debris from the blast slowly fall from the sky like red and orange rain among the black clouds of smoke. Sirens of fire vehicles sounded as rescue teams speeded past their flat to retrieve possible survivors and put out the fire before it spread to the adjoining buildings. Yelling and crying ensued in response to the two sudden attacks as confusion muddled any other emotions.

"Attention! Attention all! Now now, sit yourselves down or find a comfy place to stand, Brits." Merlin and Aithusa's attention returned back to the television where an image of a figure wrapped in the familiar flag of the American Empire stood filling the entire screen. The head of the person was covered by the eagle's piercing eye, the red and white stripes draping across the rest of their body to fold around their feet, a black rope tied around the waist to give the impression of a toga. An empty grey stone wall was illuminated with artificial light behind the person.

With arms stretched out from their sides, the figure spoke again, their voice unnatural from the use of an electronic scrambler.

"People of the United Kingdom! The Empire sends its regards and the Imperator his love! We are simply ones for grand entrances so that you all may truly appreciate how very insignificant you are in your attempts to stand against us, so we hope our regards were well-received. Now that you are likely in disarray, please collect yourselves so that you might hear our very important message properly!" Merlin glanced away for a moment to see that every projection outside in the streets displayed the image of the figure in the flag, the faceless person now the center of every attention; his own screen had been opened before him without him activating it and would not close even as he tried to signal it to disappear.

"As of now," the figure brought their left wrist before their face as if to check a watch on their unadorned wrist, "your monarch, prime minister, and cabinet have been seen to. We do appreciate them being grouped together rather closely; it makes things much less complicated. Now, to business." Bringing their hands together in front of them, the figure took a serious stance. "It has come to the Imperator's attention that you, and other nations of Europe, pose little to no inclination of relaxing your resistance against the Empire and its honorable mission. While it is admirable that you have acted with the intentions of keeping your pride and yourselves intact, your interference will no longer be tolerated. It is because of this that the Empire now sends a direct declaration of war upon you in every meaning of the word.

"My loves, it is time to say _adieu_ and to give a bit of advice: Brace yourselves."

The broadcast ended as the figure raised their right hand in a fist, an eagle tattooed across the knuckles. "Long live the Imperator!"

As the video ended, both screens automatically shut down leaving silence in the living room. Merlin and Aithusa stood frozen for a moment before springing into action. "I don't know what's coming, but whatever it is we should _not_ be around for it. We'll take what we have here then grab Elena and get somewhere safe if such a place will still exist when the Empire invades. Hopefully we should have some time before they launch another attack, maybe a week or so -"

Merlin was cut off as a loud bang sounded and a shock wave rippled through them causing sparks to fire all over the room and the foundations of their home to fracture. The two of them stumbled to their knees as chaos ensued inside and outside, everything dependant on electricity shooting sparks and the solid structures of buildings weakening to the point of crumbling. Screams of terror filled the air, a chorus of destruction and horror spreading through the cold of the early winter seeping right to the bone.

As arcs of electricity crossed from building to building, screen to colorful screen, light was rapidly being replaced with darkness as all of the signals and lights in the city darkened with the setting sun. Shadows filled the streets with a completeness unseen for many years as the motion outside gradually slowed to a stop, the only movement left being the doors of people's homes unhinging as their electric locks no longer functioned. Soon, the only light apart from the sun's was that of the massive fire which continued to consume the Palace in the distance, now without the blaring of emergency sirens.

Merlin turned from the window to look at Aithusa's shocked face as the last rays of light faded from the sky, their world melting from orange into dark blue.

And then darkness fell.

Elena rummaged through the drawers in her kitchen in the dark for a torch, the silence in her flat making her frantic digging echo emptily in the small space. Something about the blast after the video prevented her from turning on any of her lights or even using her mobile screen, thus leaving her in complete darkness as she tried to process in her shock what exactly just happened. Her hands shook as her fingers finally met the cold handle and whipped it out of the drawer, her thumb searching around the edge for the button to turn it on.

"Aha!" she yelled as she smashed the button. But instead of a emitting bright white glow, the torch only make a faint clicking sound as Elena pushed the button repeatedly in disbelief. Of all the times for the batteries to be dead.

"Batteries...batteries...batteries," she muttered as she thrust her hand back into the same drawer where she found the torch. Finding the nearly full package of batteries, Elena dumped a few onto the counter before proceeding to twist off the bottom of the torch. She held her hand beneath the opening to catch the dead batteries only to find them oozing a sticky resin. "Agh, dammit!"

Tapping her hand along the counter until she found the new batteries, Elena dropped the used batteries on the floor and wiped her right hand on the side of her jeans while holding the torch under her arm. To her dismay, the new batteries were also fried. "Dammit!" Leaving the useless torch on the counter she rushed to the closet in her room, banging her hip on the corner of the table on her way, where she kept some decorative candles from a party a few years back.

"Ok, fire. Don't fail me now," she begged as she found the small, dusty shoe box. Though she couldn't see them, the box contained five half-used candles, a few photos, a black marker, and a box of matches. Sitting down on the floor of the closet, Elena carefully picked up a candle and the box of matches.

"Halleluia!" she cried as she lit a match and held it to the wick of the candle, filling the closet and her bedroom with a warm light. Stuffing the matches back into the shoe box, she carried it and the candle into her living room. On her way there she saw that her belongings were in disarray and her door was slightly ajar, no doubt because the lock no longer functioned as did everything else she checked which was electric. Somehow, it was actually _seeing_ the damage that emotionally tipped her over the edge.

Carefully keeping a hold of her candle, Elena sat on a chair as her nose started to run with suppressed tears. Gasping a little she brushed her face and allowed herself a moment to freak out about this whole situation. "Damn, this has been a terrible week," she groaned as she watched the little flame flicker on the candle, her hair falling over one shoulder to frame the side of it.

"Caw! Caw!" Elena jumped in surprise at the cawing and the tapping that accompanied it at the window. Placing the candle upright in a glass which was on the table, Elena quickly scrubbed her face as she rushed over to the window to let the bird in to hop on her arm. She'd always had something of an affinity for crows and this one had been hanging around a lot recently. Unlike the other crows she'd gotten along with, this one didn't leave little trinkets on her window; his clever eyes observed her as she scratched under his beak with a finger.

"I'm glad you weren't hurt, Galahad." She encouraged him to perch on the table before walking over to the couch. "I think I'm going to go to bed before I use up the candle," she said glumly as she braced herself against the side of the couch and proceeded to push the couch in front of her useless door. Her neighborhood wasn't particularly terrible, but she was not going to risk someone coming in when she couldn't see anything. Once she finished, Elena let Galahad loose outside, closing the window behind him. She then scooped up the cup with the candle still burning inside and walked to her room where she sat down on her bed and blew out the flame, hoping that all of this would somehow be fixed soon.


End file.
